After flying high against Verrado on Tuesday, Independence came back down to earth. The Patriots lost 3-0 to the Buckeye Hawks on Thursday. The Patriots were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Hawks apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in April of 2025.
While Independence was not able to make it on the board, they still kept things close, especially in the first set. The final score came out to 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.
Fausto Gonzalez paced Independence's offense, picking up six kills. Gonzalez got some help from Daniel Hernandez and his seven assists. Gonzalez was also solid from the service line: he led the team with two aces.
Buckeye can attribute much of their success to Luis Hernandez, who had eight digs and two aces.
Patriots
| 04/16/26 @ Buckeye | 0-3 |
| 04/14/26 @ Verrado | 3-0 |
| 04/10/26 vs Desert Edge | 3-0 |
| 04/08/26 vs Apollo | 3-0 |
| 04/07/26 @ Washington | 0-3 |
Independence moved to 11-17 with that loss, which also ended their three-match winning streak. As for Buckeye, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
Independence has already played their next contest, a 3-0 victory against Glendale on the 17th. As for Buckeye, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 0-0 defeat against Fairfax on the 17th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
